News & Insights
Amazon Adds Its Own Discounts to Sellers’ Products
The Gist.
In a move to be more competitive with other eRetailers such as Wal-Mart, Overstock, and Kohl’s, Amazon will be discounting the prices of sellers at Amazon’s own expense. With little forewarning, Amazon has begun to
markdown items with a “Discount Provided by Amazon” label, reducing prices by up to 10%. These discounts are being granted without permission from the vendors.
How Will Sellers Be Affected? If your products are being MAP violated by other large eRetailers, Amazon will match or exceed those non-MAP prices. Violating MAP can create competitive price reductions as sellers try to match the lowered mean, ultimately leading to a devalued product. Additionally, authorized sellers and brick and mortar stores, are left high-and-dry as they try to maintain brand standards and proper product value.
The Amify Response.
We take MAP very seriously and have steps in place to keep our accounts informed, and keep their products in compliance with advertised MAP. Our account managers are reviewing MAP reports daily, monitoring and identifying any MAP violations. We have not yet encountered any Amazon discounts on our seller accounts, but have incorporated further monitoring standards to combat this new Amazon Discount program. At Amify, we put brand integrity above all else, and will continue to be hyper-vigilant in the implementation and enforcement of brand standards. As Amazon changes its selling strategy, so too do we.